Wheel-rake



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

W. H. WILD.

WHEEL RAKE.

Patented May 17, 1887.

lNyEmlTU WITNEEEEE (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. WILD.

WHEEL RAKE.

No. 363,084 Patented May 17, 1887.

WITMEEEEE IAIVERITUR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVILLTAM H. \VILD, OF VALATIE, NE\V YORK.

WHEEL-RAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 363,034, dated May 17, 1887.

Application filed February 18,1886. Serial No. 102,431. (No molelJ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. \VILD, a resident ofValatie, in the county of Columbia and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheel-Rakes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, that will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

My invention relates to improvements in wheel-rakes, the object of which is fully set forth in the following description; and it consists in the novel construction and combination ofparts,hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan View of my improved rake. Fig. 2 isacross-seetional View showing dumping mechanism. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the locking device and mechanism for operating the teethclearer. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section of the driving ratchet and pawl, taken at broken line a: x in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a front view of link a detached. Fig. (3 is an enlarged view of nut, spring, and pawl.

The axle A is provided with the actuating traction-wheels \V, and supports the rake and operating n1echanisni,including thills F,crossbars E, seat S, treadle T, head H, provided with teeth t, arms f, for supporting the operating mechanism for clearing the teeth, and dumpingratehet D.

The dumping-ratchet is fixed to the axle and turns with it, and acts upon the rake through the pawl d, centrally pivoted upon arm a, which is pivoted at one end upon the teeth-supporting head and at the other end to a system of links and levers, a a, and a,

which connect it with the operating-treadle T, pivoted upon the cross bars or slats b.

\Vhen the treadle is depressed, the link a, acting through lever a" and link a depresses the pawl supporting end of arm a, which causes the front one of the beveled ends of the pawl to be thrown up and the rear one down,

the pawl clear from the ratehetteeth.

so as to engage with one of the ratchet-teeth, which carries the head H along with it until the forward point of the pawl, occupying the position on the ratchet shown by dotted lines,

strikes the stop 0, which forces the point out from the ratchet and causes the pawl to perform ahalf-revolution on its pivot, reversing its ends, thereby releasing the head, the spring S, secured at one end to arm a and at the other end to the pawl-supporting arm, acting tolift pawl being centrally pivoted, it matters not which of the like ends engages the ratchet, nor what its position is when the treadle is depressed. If the pawl happens to be in the position shown in Fig. 2, the first tooth of the ratchet which strikes the lower end of the pawl will force the other end into immediate engagement with the next tooth.

The link a is slotted, as shown in Fig. 5, which permits it to slide down upon the end of lover a" between its retainingpins a a. I also provide a hooked arm, h, attached to the rake-head and pivoted upon the axle, which not only acts to support the head, but is adapted to engage with the hook 7f, pivoted to the frame or slat I), to hold the raketeelh in their proper position upon the ground.

"When the treadle is depressed to dump the rake, the link It, connecting the heel of the treadle with the pivoted hook, lifts the hook from engagement with hook h, which releases the rake-head at the same time it is brought under the influence of the dumping-ratehet. The stop 0', attached to hook It, serves to prevent the rake head and teeth from falling too far when released from the dumper, the end of arm h striking the stop and arresting its further progress. Hook k is forced down into engagement with hook it by the spring k".

The object of the bar 0 is to clear the hay from the teeth of the rake when dumped.

The teeth are all loosely secured to the bar 0, as by the staples G, within which the teeth are free to slide. The bar is supported by one end of the levers g, pivoted upon the braces f, fixed upon the frame or thills F and projecting to the rearward of the axle, as shown in Fig. 3. The other ends of lovers 9 are connected by the pivoted links Z with the rakehcad, as shown. It is obvious therefore that The when the head is thrown forward ,by the dumping-ratchet it acts, through link Z and levers g, to quickly depress the clearing-bar O at the same time the rake-teeth are elevated, thus forcing from the teeth any adhering substance.

WVhen turning around orat any angle with the rake, it is well known that one wheel travels faster than the other, and various kinds of pawl-and-ratchet mechanisms have been heretofore adopted to permit the wheels to revolve backward upon the axle without imparting to 1t a rotary motion. The mechanism which I employ for this purpose is shown in Fig. 4.

K is the ratchet, which is fixed upon the axle A, and J is the pawl adapted to engage with the ratchet. Thepawleonsists of a pin beveled at its lower engaging end, as shown, and adapted to slide loosely in a socket in the rim or barrel R, surrounding and inclosing the ratchet. The barrel is firmly secured to the Wheel-hub or forms a part of it. The mouth of the socket is interiorly threaded and closed by a eorrespondingly-threaded nut, N. The pawl has a small guiding-spur, a, projecting up into a coil-spring, m, which bears upon the pawl at one end and the nut at the other. The action of the spring is to keep the pawl in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet. When the rake is advancing, the pawl engages with the ratchet-teeth and forces the axle to rotate. \Vhen the revolution of the wheels or axle is reversed, the pawl slides over the teeth, rising in its socket and overcoming the force of the spring. The pawl and its socket are slightly tapered, the upper end of the pawl being slightly larger than the lower end of the socket, so that the pawl cannot drop too far out of its socket as it slides radially.

Such a form of construction, by entirely inclosing the pawl and ratchet, protects them from the dust and hay, and prevents the intervention of foreign substances which might interfere with their free operation.

To gain access to the pawl and cooperating parts, it is only necessary to unscrew and remove the threaded nut N. The entire mechanism is compact, and can be eheaply'constructed in a durable manner.

By making the rake-head curved in form, as I have shown in Fig. 1, I am able to have the raketceth all of the same length, and at the desire to secure by head, whereby a pawl, d, having its middle pivoted to said link a, may be carried down to gear with a ratchet-wheel, D, in the manner and for the purpose described.

2. In a wheel rake, the combination of axle A, ratchet-wheel D, fixed upon the axle, pawl (1, arm a, rake-head H, treadle T, fulcrumed upon the rake-frame, andconneoting-links a a and a, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, in a wheel-rake, with an axle and rake-head, of the hool -arm h, pivoted on the axle, a pivoted hook, k, having stop e, a link, k, and a spring, 70, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of January, 1886.

G120. A. MosHER, XV. H. HOLLIs'rER, J r. 

